Looping of a central venous catheter during pediatric cardiac surgery

Although several complications with central venous catheters have been discussed extensively, intravascular migration is uncommon and often goes unrecognized during surgery. We present a case of central venous catheter looping into the left innominate vein after cardiopulmonary bypass during pediatric cardiac surgery. The clinical signs of a lack of backflow from the central venous catheter and different catheter tip positions on transesophageal echocardiography should alert clinicians to the possibility of intravascular migration. Copyright (C) 2013, Taiwan Surgical Association. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.